2023 College Football Storylines to Be Thankful For
B.Martinez3 months ago
Jonathan Bachman/ In recent years, the Heisman race has been all but wrapped up a few weeks before the December ceremony. For the most part, the ceremonies awarding past winners like Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield came without too much intrigue or drama. But 2023's race just might be one of the more interesting and close ones yet. At the midpoint of the season, it looked like the race was likely going to be Washington QB Michael Penix, Jr., with fellow potential CFP signal-callers like FSU's Jordan Travis, Michigan's J.J. McCarthy and Oregon's Bo Nix in the mix. But in the last few weeks, we've seen these odds shift dramatically, mainly thanks to how incredible LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has looked. First, against Florida on Nov. 12, Daniels put up 606 total yards of offense with five touchdowns. He also became the first quarterback in FBS history to notch 350 yards passing and 200 yards on the ground in a single game. Daniels flashed a Heisman pose celebration during the game, and his head coach, Brian Kelly, made the case for his quarterback to win the award afterwards. "If [Daniels] didn't win [the Heisman Trophy] tonight he has got to be the leading candidate," Kelly said. "Unless the Heisman is just about popularity. If you want to be the most popular then fine, but he is the best player in college football. "He did something tonight that no one has ever done. If that doesn't make you the leading candidate, then maybe the Heisman isn't really for the best player." Last week against Georgia State, Daniels went 25-of-30 passing with 413 yards, a season-high six touchdowns and zero interceptions. He added 96 yards rushing with another two scores on the ground. Currently Daniels has the best odds (-120) to win the award, per DraftKings . It'll be interesting to see if Nix (+140) and Penix Jr. (+650) will get a jolt when either one or both of them play in the Pac-12 title game next month. LSU is set to take on Texas A&M on Saturday, which will be Daniels' last game of the season. If Daniels takes home the award, it'll also break the trend of the Heisman going to a player on a team in contention for a conference or national title.
